Honorees

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State Honoree

Kimber Dickson

Kimber Dickson, 12, of Washington, D.C., a seventh-grader at Saint Augustine Catholic School, volunteered with her Girl Scout troop to teach children in an after-school program at a local recreation center about basic financial matters. Teaching financial literacy is important, said Kimber, because “people think that money is going to last forever, but the truth is that it is easier to lose money than to earn it.” When her Girl Scout troop decided to undertake a financial service project, Kimber and her fellow scouts first had to learn about saving money, bank accounts, the stock market, bankruptcy and other topics. Then they offered to teach the concepts they learned to about 20 kids in an after-school program.

Kimber’s troop experimented with several different teaching strategies before settling on a couple that they thought would be most effective. So, in addition to simply making presentations about financial literacy to the youngsters, Kimber and the other scouts played a board game with them to emphasize the importance of saving money and demonstrate how to use a bank account. They also created and performed a skit for the kids, showing them how to be honest with their money and encouraging them to be respectful of their parents’ money. Kimber also volunteers at her church and school. At church, she serves as an altar server and a member of the Children’s Choir Ministry. She’s chief altar server at school, as well, helping to serve at Mass every Friday and at funeral masses.